There might be romance in the sizzle of rain hitting the hot sidewalk, but at the moment you just want to get rid of your soaked-through coat and tie. You’re walking down 52nd when a man pops up from behind a garbage can, holding an umbrella. He’s wearing all black, despite the summer heat, and is surrounded by a massive flock of pigeons.

“Oh, hello,” he says.

“Hello,” you say, startled.

The two of you stare at each other for a long moment.

“Were you here for the tour, then?” he asks.

“No,” you say, “I’m on my way back from an internship. I was just going to get some noodles.”

“Ah,” he says, “let me know when you change your mind.”

He snaps his fingers, and in a blur of coos and falling feathers, the whirling pigeons spirit him up and away into the air. You watch until his umbrella disappears into the clouds above the buildings.

One of the things I like about your pictures is that you can really tell that the clothes are being worn. How do clothes fit within your grander view of life, the universe and everything - if you have one?

I don't know that I do have a grander view of life; in fact I think I've thought more about it in the past few days than I have in a long time. I do know that Clothes have always played an important part in my life; from the clothing my mom made for me when I was little, to the Southpole/Phat Farm phase I went through in high school, to where I am now. There have been many missteps, but it has always been fun along the way. I've come to realize that clothing helps me to feel confident in myself, and can be that little extra that might be missing when you wake up some days. I've always felt more confident in clothes that I've worn and loved, much more so than any new item of clothing. Don't be afraid to break in your clothes; you'll love them that much more after.

What this looks like: The captain of the fastest schooner on the Conservancy Water

You haven’t been to the circus in years, but your cousins wanted to go and you agreed to take them since, as of two days ago, you have nothing better to do, no apartment to return to, and anything at all is better than moping around. Of course, the first thing they want to do is get their fortunes told by some guy who isn’t even in costume – nautical shirt, cropped pants, skate shoes – what kind of half-rate circus is this? The kids don’t notice, and the younger cousin’s face turns bright red when the fortune teller tells him that the planets have aligned and that he should ask out the girl in his class on Monday. His sister teases him, and you stand to leave.
“Dumped, huh?” says the fortune-teller. You stop. He hands the kids some arcade tokens and tells them to come back in half an hour.

“How’d you know?” you ask.

“Double, double, toil and trouble,” he begins. He holds one hand above his crystal ball while the other vanishes under the table. It’s silent in the tent, the only light the odd purple glow from the orb in front of you. The air is heavy, and smells of ozone.

Wait, he’s not actually…

…is he?

“I foresee,” he says as his hand emerges, holding something, “that you need a silver bullet.” You shy away as he shakes the can violently, places it calmly on the table, and then opens it, spraying beer into your face.

“Taste the cold,” he says, and shrugs when you stare at him. “It’s in the contract.”

The Goods:

Shirt: CDG Shirt
Pants: Lad Musician
Shoes: Vans

Tell us about the clothes you enjoy wearing. What is about Lad Musician in particular that you find so attractive?

Over recent years, I've been still trying to find my footing in my own personal style.
I'd say I'm fairly well-versed when it comes to knowing about designers, but was never sure which ones resonate with what I'd wear.

I have quite a large collection of Japanese magazines, and I'm always interested in Japanese aesthetics. (Style, Interior Design, etc.) So I would say those have influenced me greatly as well.

For Lad Musician in particular however, viewing the lookbooks and reading about Yuichi Kuroda's (the head and sole designer) ideas always gave me a yearning to try on and have that similar aesthetic: Modern, tailored, minimal, comfortable.

"Clothing fit for musicians" is a huge driving force behind the brand, so the clothing is very reflective in the cut, details, feel, mobility, and function. I myself am a musician, so I can attest to the comfort of wear while playing for long periods of time. It seems to me like one of those things where you need to physically "feel" the garments in order to fully appreciate the feel and the idea they had in mind.

It’s 3AM, and you’re being eaten alive by insects. You can’t believe you agreed to this. As your new friend hands you a headlamp and a fishing pole, you solemnly swear that you will never again allow a stranger to get you drunk at a diner in Appalachia over breakfast. What the hell is a hornpout, anyway?

“Now,” he says, standing on the shore of the lake he’s driven you to, “you gotta shine your light on ‘em.” He turns on his headlamp, and a chill runs down your neck as you see something cutting through the water offshore.

“There!” he says, pointing. “Toss that worm in right there!”

Moving automatically, you do as he asks. A zigzagging arrow approaches the ripple where your bait lands, and seconds later your heart is beating as something prehistoric emerges from the black water, barbels twitching. It looks prehistoric; blunt and slimy with a flat, wide mouth. Two wide, staring eyes look up at you.

You gaze back down at its ageless, ugly face in the still night air of the evening, as insects buzz in your ears and the stars shine overhead. Undoing the hook, you place it gently back into the water and it disappears into the murk.

The Goods:

Shirt: sasquatchFABRIX
Shorts: Levi’s 501
Shoes: Vans

I don't think it'd be wrong to say that your photos are divisive. How would you describe your look? What is it about clothing that interests you?

At the moment my pictures are just the product of trying new things and discovering new brands (primarily Japanese). I used to dress very Americana/outdoorsy/L.L. Bean-catalogue because it’s what was spoon-fed to me. After a while, I found a niche style which appealed to me and I do my best to capture that while keeping it appropriate to my surroundings and foundation. Brands like Dana Lee allow for me to stay interested without standing out unnecessarily, but pieces like the potato sack shown here are fun for me.

I like my clothing to be spirited and have some character: qualities which attracted me to brands like sasquatchFABRIX, Junya, and Dries. They’re copiously detailed and always inimitable while still being fun and encouraging invention. That being said, I’ll be starting college in a rural area this fall so I plan for my clothing to be a bit more subdued in terms of experimentation.

Shootspeed

Original WAYT post here

What this looks like: “Last of the freelance hackers and greatest swordfighter in the world.”

The man on top of your rental sedan has been doggedly hanging on as you cut through traffic, and you crank the wheel when he begins pounding on the roof again.

A black car swerves in front of you, its rear tires breaking free at 80MPH.

The man at the airport warned you this might happen, but you had no idea what he was talking about. That was two days ago. If only you had thought to ask him what he meant.

A head peaks out of the passenger-side window. You know that face! The guy from the airport! Maybe you’ll get a chance to ask him what the hell is going on. He disappears for a moment, then reappears, shimmying out of the window and onto the roof.

Is that a fucking sword?

He balances on the trunk of the car in front of you and motions at you not to swerve. His black jacket flaps madly in the wind. There’s a loud noise, and a bullet punches through the sunroof and destroys the GPS screen. Shit.

You watch as he yells something, but your windows are up and locked. It might have been “No Worries.”

You're wearing an interesting mix of designers in this photo. What do you look for when buying clothes or putting outfits together?

My inspirations and interests usually dictate my aesthetic choices. I'm generally into minimalism, abstraction, utility, subversion, design, and the future so I tend to seek out collections that reflect these concepts and try to combine them in a punk rock fashion. It makes it easier for me to mix different designers this way since these ideas fall under a unified theme about myself and create a nice sense of modularity within my wardrobe. A black monochromatic palette tends to help with this as well. The ending result has to be what I consider cool, comfortable, and me.

Cheers; that's been fixed. I'm pretty bad at the logistical side of this, which is fairly embarrassing - also, Fok called me a huge nerd for the Shootspeed story. I believe he actually described it as a "nerd's wet dream," which I couldn't really argue with.

As a sidebar, I have had a ton of fun doing this over the past few months, and would love to hear back from all you guys about what you like or don't like about these articles, and what you would want to see more of. We have some more projects on the boiler, but please feel free to PM me (although I reserve the right to completely ignore you) with stuff you want to hear more about. As Fok said months ago, all of this stuff is really for the community; so if you want to see something done, we'll do our best to do it.

For example, Teger is heading to NYC to do some exclusive Capsule coverage, and I am always looking for more interesting subjects to write esoteric shit about, so again, feel free to get in touch!